Michah's Birthday

It has been one year since Michah was born. Hard to believe. So much has changed. It does not matter that I watched first Meghan and then Mathew grow through the first year. Michah's growth has amazed me. I forgot to mention that he started taking his first steps about a week or so ago. Everyday he is a little steadier on his feet. Thankfully, Meghan has decided she is going to be a mini-mommy. It is funny to hear her praise the baby and try to take care of Michah. Sometimes, I think I've got to watch her to make sure she does not over mommy him! Othertimes, she is a big help and allows me to get things done around the house.

One Innocent Baby:


Plus One Cupcake:


Equals:

What a mess!

Golden Apple Foundation

I spent the day at Starved Rock. Yes, I know that its Tuesday, not a typical day for a wedding. But I didn't have a wedding today. It was one of my rare commercial shoots. This week, Starved Rock is hosting a teacher conference being hosted by the Golden Apple Foundation. The Golden Apple Foundation was formed to foster educator excellence in Illinois. They hired me to spend the day photographing two different workshops being taught to teachers at Starved Rock.

One group was Science Teachers and the other was Art Teachers. Talk about a right brain vs. left brain difference in the rooms. The Art room was total chaos while the science room was orderly. The scientists were quiet while the artists were boisterous. I could go on but you get the idea. All in all it was a fun to have a different type of event to photograph. To top it off, I did get a chance to see my friends, who work at Starved Rock.

Allison and Brian

Another great wedding, this time for Allison and Brian. The weather cooperated and we had one of those great days. Cory, the summer intern I hired from Bradley, joined me at the wedding. I surprised her by letting her shoot some photos at the reception with a backup camera. Cory was surprised at how difficult it is to take photos in a dark reception hall. I think it gave her a new appreciation for what I do. I'm too tired to post any more, so good night!

Lazy Summer Days.

Summer has begun to set in. Meghan has started at summer camp and really enjoys the days. Mathew wants to spend the day there too but he will have to wait until next year. Everyday at camp, Meghan has a swimming lesson. By the end of the summer, I bet she is going to be pretty good.

Meanwhile, work on the lower level is nearing completion. There are several little things to get done but we need to wait for some materials to arrive before they can resume work. The main thing we need is the counter for the bathroom sinks. We are having a custom double bowl counter with integrated sinks made. The guy who does this is on vacation and once he returns it will be a couple of weeks before the counter is ready to install.

Meanwhile, I continue to work on albums, and weddings. There is just so much to do and so little time. I fear this is a summer that I will not get to enjoy the way I would like.

Melissa and Jeff's Engagement Session

Wow! That's about all I can say about last night's engagement session with Melissa and Jeff. We went to Millenium Park and had a blast.

Joan and Max's Wedding

Yesterday was Joan and Max's wedding. They joined about 1300 Chicago area couples by getting married on 7/7/7. We spent the day at The Seville, on Barrington road. The Seville hosted two weddings in the afternoon and three in the evening. I bet the staff at the Seville was exhausted by day's end.

Purple and Lilacs were the theme of the day






These chocolate covered strawberries were in the bride's room at the Seville.


The sweet table at The Seville

The $50+ Souvenir Summerfest Cup

Monday I played hooky from everything and spent a day with the kids. For those of you who don't know, around July 4th every year, Milwaukee plays host to Summerfest, the nation's largest music festival. 11 years ago, it was one of my first dates with Sheryl.

The weather today was beautiful. Around 75 degrees, sunny with a slight breeze here in Chicago. So around 10:30 I (Sheryl was stuck working), loaded all three kids in the van and drove to Summerfest. Before we left I stopped at the bank for some cash. As we were pulling out of the bank's parking lot, Meghan realized she never had breakfast and a Dunkin Doughnuts was in the area. $5.00 later we had 7 doughnuts (BTW, DD has free Doughnut Mondays in July!).

Off we were to Milwaukee. About 75 minutes later, we arrived at the park and ride lot where we met Charles and Harriet, my in-laws. The parking was free but he bus to Summerfest was $9.00. Eventually we arrived at the main gate. Much to our surprise as part of kid's day at Summerfest, admission was free until 3:00!

My relief was short lived. Once we were in the door, there was plenty of ways to spend money.

$3 for 3 balloons for the kids
$20 3 subs and 3 sodas (1 in the souvenir cup) for lunch
$2 for the bounce house
$2 for the street act juggler
$9 to ride the skyway (1 way)

Total spent (without gas money) $50. At the end of the day, I had three tired kids, the photos and my $50 souvenir cup. But you know something? The kids had a great day and I'd do it all over again next year!



Did I mention, the Summerfest grounds were on the shores of Lake Michigan. Here are the kids at lunch time.


We let the baby loose for a couple of moments.


Here's the juggler! Notice that very sharp knife.


A view at the Harley Motorcycle parking lot.

Megan and Lance

Megan and Lance had a great wedding today at Starved Rock. Here are some of my favs from the day.


Here's Megan checking out the dinning room.

Megan in her infamous pose!

Our couple is a tender moment!

The guys!

It was a great sunset. Take a look at the fire in the sky!

This is what happens at the end of the night when a group of dancers gets together.